Another Take on Tebow

Gosselin's article today. Good reading. What coaches see vs. what scouts see.


If Tim Tebow succeeds, coaches will have last laugh over scouts
01:27 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Column by RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Rick Gosselin
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Ndamukong Suh was the best player and Sam Bradford the first player in the 2010 draft, but Tim Tebow was by far the most intriguing player on the board.
Tebow was a Superman in college football, winning an NCAA passing title in 2009 to go along with his 2007 Heisman Trophy. He also won the Maxwell, O’Brien, Manning and Sullivan awards during his four years at the University of Florida. He was a two-time captain of the Gators and posted a 35-6 record as a starting quarterback.
But there were divergent opinions of Tebow in the NFL. Opinions were split from building to building, even inside the same building. There was a clear divide in the two camps. Scouts and talent evaluators were not in love with the Florida quarterback, but NFL coaches were.

AP The Denver Broncos traded up to get Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round of the 2010 draft.
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The scouts and personnel directors evaluate tape of a draft prospect. They saw the flaws in Tebow as a quarterback – his wide passing base, the long stride into his throws and the long delivery.
The consensus of those talent evaluators at the conclusion of the 2009 college season was that Tebow was a third-round talent. Some didn’t think he’d ever make it as a quarterback in the NFL, projecting him as an H-back.
Those opinions were reinforced in two of Tebow’s final three games, when he struggled against veteran NFL defensive minds. His Gators lost the SEC title game to Alabama coach Nick Saban, then his South squad lost the Senior Bowl to Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz.
Tebow was 20-of-35 passing for 247 yards with one touchdown, one interception and 63 yards rushing in that 32-13 loss to Alabama. In the Senior Bowl, he was 8-of-12 passing for 50 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions and two fumbles. He also rushed four times for four yards.
But come February, the NFL coaches became involved in the evaluation process at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. They weren’t analyzing the player as much as they were the person in Tebow’s interviews, visits and campus workout.
NFL coaches, the offensive gurus in particular, fell in love with Tebow’s work ethic, charisma, moxie and other assorted intangibles that helped make him the success he was in both high school (the state of Florida’s all-time leading passer) and college (three-time All-SEC).
During my own research of this draft, I found opinions warming up on Tebow in March. The scouting community would advise me he’s still a third-round value with a precautionary, “but he’ll go higher.” I moved him into the bottom of the second round on my own board in early April and was repeatedly told by my team sources, “he’ll go a lot higher than you think.”
As we approached the home stretch of this draft, I was of the belief that a team with an offensive guru calling the shots in the draft room – someone like a Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Sean Payton, Andy Reid or a Gary Kubiak – would either draft or move up to draft Tebow at the top of the second round.
An offensive guru did move up. But head coach Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos vaulted all the way into the first round to claim Tebow with the 25th overall pick. The Broncos gave up a second-, third- and fourth-round pick to give McDaniels the chance to transform Tebow into an NFL quarterback.
Only time will tell who was right in the evaluation of Tebow: the NFL’s scouts or coaches.

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